Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show any interest in ending his invasion of Ukraine during a call on March 12 with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a French Presidency official said.
The French and German leaders, who have continued to speak with Putin since he launched his unprovoked attack two weeks ago, reiterated their call for an immediate cease-fire.
Macron reportedly accused Putin of "lies" for alleging that Ukrainian forces had committed human rights abuses.
Russian forces have bombarded Ukraine since February 24, when Putin announced his invasion, including civilian sites such as a maternity ward, killing innocent people.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the fighting began. Russian troop losses have been estimated in the several thousand.
Fighting raged northwest of Kyiv on March 12 as the British Defense Ministry said the bulk of Russian ground forces are now just 25 kilometers from the center of the Ukrainian capital, while tanks and artillery pounded places already under siege.
Air-raid sirens blared across several Ukrainian cities early on March 12 urging people to seek shelters, local media reported.
Zelenskiy said on March 12 that Russia was sending new forces to Ukraine after suffering what he said were its biggest losses in decades.
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In a televised address, Zelenskiy urged Russia to uphold an agreed cease-fire to allow evacuations to proceed from the besieged port city of Mariupol, after blaming Moscow for the failure of previous attempts.
The UN's crisis coordinator for Ukraine says the body is seeking agreement with both sides in the conflict to establish corridors for delivering much-needed aid.
Amin Awad told the Associated Press on March 12 that progress is being made on the corridors and accompanying cease-fires but expressed frustration over resistance to quickly implement them.
Reports said a Ukrainian military airfield south of Kyiv has been targeted by Russian missiles. The mayor of Vasylkiv said the attack destroyed the runway and a fuel depot, as well as causing explosions at an ammunition depot.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks from his office in the capital in a video posted on Facebook early on March 12.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry accused Russian forces on March 12 of shelling a mosque in the southern port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children, including Turkish citizens, were taking shelter.
It did not say if there were any people killed or wounded.
Despite ample, concrete evidence of Russian attacks on civilian areas documented by reporters, including RFE/RL correspondents on the ground, Moscow denies targeting civilian areas.
The UN said on March 11 that it had received credible reports that Russian forces were using cluster bombs in populated areas in Ukraine. International law prohibits the use of the bombs, which scatter smaller explosives over a wide area, in cities and towns.
WATCH: More than 2 million people have fled from Ukraine to escape the onslaught of Russia's military forces. On March 8, Current Time spoke to Ukrainians on the move in Kyiv and Lviv who hope to find a safe haven inside or outside the country. Current Time is the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
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Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said she hoped that several humanitarian corridors out of Ukrainian towns and villages, including from the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, will be open on March 12 so civilians can leave.
"I hope that the day will go well, all the planned routes will be open, and Russia will fulfill its obligations to guarantee the cease-fire regime," Vereshchuk said in a video address.
But the governor of the Kyiv region said fighting and threats of Russian air attacks were continuing during evacuation attempts.
In Mariupol, unceasing barrages into the city have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and evacuate trapped civilians.
The UN humanitarian office said the people trapped in Mariupol were desperate.
"There are reports of looting and violent confrontations among civilians over what little basic supplies remain in the city," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on March 12. "Medicines for life-threatening illnesses are quickly running out, hospitals are only partially functioning, and the food and water are in short supply."
Mariupol's death toll has passed 1,500 in 12 days of attacks, the mayor's office said. Shelling forced crews to stop digging trenches for mass graves, so the “dead aren't even being buried," the mayor said.
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A deadly strike on a maternity hospital in the city this week sparked international outrage and war-crime allegations.
The World Health Organization has confirmed 29 attacks on health-care facilities in Ukraine, which have resulted in 12 deaths, including two health workers, and 34 people injured.
Ukrainian officials accused Russia damaging a cancer hospital and several residential buildings in the southern city of Mykolayiv with shelling from heavy artillery.
The hospital’s head doctor, Maksim Beznosenko, said several hundred patients were in the hospital during the attack but that no one was killed. The assault damaged the building and blew out windows.
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Meanwhile, residents in the southeastern city of Melitopol staged a protest to call for the release of the city’s mayor after surveillance video showed him being marched out of city hall apparently surrounded by Russian soldiers.
Officials said on March 11 that Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov was kidnapped by Russian forces after being accused of terrorism. Zelenskiy called the abduction “a new stage of terror.”
Zelenskiy said on March 12 that he had spoken to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about pressuring Russia to release Fedorov.
"We expect world leaders to show us how they can influence the situation," Zelenskiy said.
According to Ukrainian officials, Fedorov was abducted because he "refused to cooperate with the enemy."
Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Mykolayiv, located 470 kilometers south of Kyiv, in an attempt to encircle the city.
The conflict has already sent 2.5 million people fleeing the country.
On the ground, the Kremlin’s forces appeared to be trying to regroup and regain momentum after tough resistance over the past two weeks. Britain’s Defense Ministry said on March 11 that Russia is trying to reset and "re-posture” its troops, gearing up for operations against Kyiv.
In an update on March 12, it said fighting northwest of the capital continued and the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Mariupol remained encircled under heavy Russian shelling.
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In a multifront attack on Kyiv, the Russians' push from the northeast appeared to be advancing, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to give the U.S. assessment of the fight.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden said that in unison with the G7 group of wealthy nations, Washington will revoke Russia's "permanent normal trade relations" status, commonly referred to as most-favored nation status, to punish President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.
"The free world is coming together to confront Putin," Biden said.